From：Internet Info Agency 2021-04-15 17:41:29
April 1st is the first anniversary of Julian Blissett taking over as President of GM China. On this day, he accepted interviews from more than ten media including IIA. This media communication meeting Julian Blissett gave a detailed answer to the industry's most concerned questions about how GM will transform into electrification and automation and how to promote it in China.
At the two sessions this year, the targets for peak carbon dioxide emissions and carbon neutrality were included in the national work report. The "14th Five-Year Plan" proposes that energy consumption per unit of GDP and carbon dioxide emissions should be reduced by 13.5% and 18% respectively.
Undoubtedly, green and sustainable new energy vehicles have become an important direction for the development of the automotive industry in the future. A green revolution has begun to recover.
In terms of green travel, GM’s vision is highly compatible with my country’s carbon emissions goals. GM previously proposed "zero accidents, zero emissions, and zero congestion."
We firmly believe in the future of pure electric. Julian Blissett said: "In January this year, GM announced that it will achieve carbon neutrality in its global products and operating facilities by 2040, and plans to achieve zero emissions for all new light-duty vehicles by 2035."
China is one of GM's most important automotive markets. It is planned that in the next five years, more than 40% of the company's new products launched in China will be new energy vehicles.
The transformation of nearly half of the products into new energy is also due to the gradual increase in the recognition of new energy vehicles by Chinese consumers. Julian Blissett also expressed a similar view: "Chinese consumers have a very high acceptance of new technologies, as can be seen from the rapid development of e-commerce. I think the popularity of electric vehicles in the Chinese market will far exceed other markets."
It is worth mentioning that at present, GM already has a hot-selling product, Wuling Hongguang MINIEV, whose sales volume has surpassed Tesla and firmly sits on the throne of China's NEV rankings.
Julian Blissett fully affirmed the performance of Wuling Hongguang MINIEV, believing that this model currently occupies an absolute dominant position in its market segment. "Wuling Hongguang MINIEV is a product based on the GSEV platform developed locally by SAIC-GM-Wuling. In the future, this platform will launch more products to achieve economies of scale."
In addition to the GSEV platform, GM unveiled many cutting-edge and core technologies at the CES held at the beginning of this year. For example, the Ultium electric technology platform, a new generation of VIP electronic architecture, and an enhanced version of the super intelligent driving system.
In order to provide strong support for the transformation, GM has deployed in many technical fields in advance. For example, the Ultium platform is the cornerstone of GM’s comprehensive electrification. The platform vertically integrates the company’s electrification technology advantages, battery and motor modular design as the core, and adopts the industry The first wireless battery management system. The Exhibit Zero virtual exhibition area showcased the rich product planning of the Ultium platform, including GMC HUMMER - a pure electric pickup, Cadillac LYRIQ – a pure electric luxury SUV, Cadillac CELESTIQ ultra-luxury sedan and etc.
This technology will help GM fully realize the electrification of its products, and improve the performance, scale effect, speed to market and manufacturing efficiency of electric vehicles.
As the core part of new energy vehicles, batteries have always attracted consumers' attention. At present, car companies mainly have two routes in battery production, one is to build their own factories, and the other is to cooperate with local battery suppliers.
When answering questions from IIA, Julian Blissett answered questions about which route GM would choose and how it is currently progressing. He said: “GM will combine the two routes. Last year, GM and LG Chem The United States established a joint venture company to independently develop and produce batteries. In China, our battery supplier is CATL. We are deeply involved in battery research and development, optimized cell formulation and design, and formed an exclusive solution for Ultium batteries. Taking into account the rapid changes in battery technology and the rapid iteration of battery composition and design, we will also adjust our strategy accordingly in the future according to the actual situation.”
In addition to the Ultium platform, GM's display of a new generation of VIP intelligent electronic architecture is also worth looking forward to. It demonstrates the software strength behind GM' full electrification. The architecture has higher bandwidth and stronger data processing capabilities, and can support efficient system integration and rapid technological iteration. By 2023, it will be installed in almost all global models of GM.
In terms of intelligent driving, the super intelligent driving system Super Cruise will also be upgraded and will cover the entire series of Cadillac brand models in the next 5 years. It is worth noting that the enhanced version of Super Cruise will be launched in China this year, bringing users more brand-new experiences.
Emerging automakers have seized a place, and traditional auto companies are constantly releasing signals to accelerate the transition to electrification. As one of the giants, GM has neither expressed an aggressive timetable for the withdrawal of fuel vehicles, nor has it publicized huge investment in projects. GM seems to be half a beat slow to start on the electrified track.
On the day of the interview, the media stated that Wuling Hongguang MINIEV was hailed as People's Car. However, in the field of mainstream pure electric products, GM's global brands currently do not have a mass pure electric model.
In response to this question, Julian Blissett said: "Electric vehicles are a long-term competition that not only involves products and technologies, but also involves many aspects of marketing, marketing and other competitions." He believes that the current Ultium platform of General Motors will create a series of cross-brand and cross-segmented electric vehicle lineups. After Cadillac LYRIQ, Buick and Chevrolet will also launch a variety of products to fully cover the mainstream market.
New energy vehicles are the future development trend of auto companies, the mainstream and final competition track. However, judging from the current overall data, electric vehicles still account for a small proportion of the total. Data show that my country's auto sales in 2020 will reach 25.311 million, while my country's new energy vehicle sales are only 1.367 million.
Although battery mileage and charging difficulties have been improved to a certain extent, some consumers are still on the sidelines of electric vehicles. Perhaps it is for the above reasons that GM did not prematurely promote its electrification strategy, but laid the foundation for its transformation in a low-key manner, waiting for the time to be ripe and then exert its efforts.
Summary: For GM, a traditional car manufacturer with more than one hundred years of history and multiple brands under its umbrella, it is no easy task to turn the bow and change direction when the new era is approaching. GM is constantly adjusting its development direction, not only to meet market demand, but also to ensure the stable operation of the group.
Among the many decisions, how to accelerate the electrification of its brands in the Chinese market has become one of the most important issues. my country has become GM's largest sales market except for the domestic market in the United States. In this interview, Julian Blissett also emphasized many times that the group will put the most advanced technology and the best models in China.
Julian Blissett, who has lived in China for fifteen years, believes that with his precise control of the Chinese market, he can gradually put the most suitable products for consumers on the market at the right time.
